Rodeo - a bull-fighter and breeder's point of view

Up close. Bull-fighter (rodeo clown) Shane Bird. PHOTO / SUPPLIED

Being a bull-fighter and a bull-breeder, NZRCA North Island president Shane Bird has had a perfect view of the goings on at the pointy end of the action - action that for rodeo bulls carries on up to a decade after a beef bull born at the same time has been eaten.

Mr Bird, who has an inside view of both animals and riders in the rodeo ring, is convinced that the sport is not cruel.

"We live by the animal welfare code for rodeos. There's a whole lot of rules in place which have been set up by the Government and we live by that - we don't breach that in anyway. So, that's why it's not cruel. If it was cruel the Government would put a rule in there to stop it."

Mr Bird said there were two reasons that kept him involved with the sport.

"For us, as bull-fighters, there's two reasons. It's the thrill of the actual event on the day - the excitement and the adrenaline rush and, also it is a lifestyle.

"We used to be known as rodeo clowns who used to stand in front of the bulls to get the bull's attention, but we don't do that anymore, we don't dress up. We're known as bull-fighters now but it's exactly the same job. Our job is to get the bull's attention once a rider has fallen off.

"We also have more than 200 cattle at home that are bred specifically for rodeos and bull-riding, so the lifestyle of farming them, watching the calves grow until they are big enough to buck is all part of the lifestyle."

There were several differences in the way rodeo bulls were bred, in comparison to beef stock, which were farmed solely for meat.

"They are farming primarily for meat and to have good female replacement stock. We do the same, but what we can also do is use these bulls for rodeo. So what I'm looking for is something that's athletic and aggressive as a young bull, and then over time they learn how to buck more efficiently themselves."

The way rodeo bulls were bred and the fact they could have double the life expectancy of beef cows were further proof that the sport was not cruel, he said.

"If you're looking at a beef bull that's just there for fattening to become sold to the works for meat - they are generally all dead by two and a half.

"If you're looking at a stud bull, they generally live till seven or eight, and we've got rodeo bulls that have been 10 or 12 years old.

"If it was cruel and mean to a bull, he wouldn't keep bucking up to 10 or 12. We have bulls here that are 10 or 12 but they wouldn't buck under stress, distress or if they were harmed. If they were harmed in any way, they would quit bucking."